Subscriber OnlyIreland

IT Sunday: Vicky Phelan’s death reminds us there is no such thing as an ordinary person

This week: David McWilliams on planning for an island of 10 million; and Fiona Reddan’s latest personal finance advice

Vicky Phelan died early on Monday morning aged 48 in Milford Hospice, Co Limerick surrounded by her family. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times

Sun Nov 20 2022 - 09:54

Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.

Cervical cancer campainger Vicky Phelan died on Monday aged 48. Fintan O’Toole this weekend writes that Ms Phelan’s death reminds us that there is no such thing as an ordinary person; it is just that people who would prefer to be getting on with their lives are forced by official negligence to show how extraordinary they are. “Too often in Ireland, the heroic is intertwined with the awful. It comes with a savage imperative of self-disclosure. Citizens have to give up their private selves because our collective public realm has failed them. Phelan had to make her terminal illness a political matter. Mark and David Ryan had to go on RTÉ Radio to talk about how they were abused as children in Blackrock College. Apart from the courage and eloquence of such heroic people, there is a profound connection between the CervicalCheck scandal that Phelan did so much to expose, and the impunity enjoyed by institutional abusers. Both are about silence and silencing.”

The world population surged past eight billion people on Tuesday. In his latest column, David McWilliams writes that the island of Ireland, the one which could be united one way or another by 2050, will have a population heading towards 10 million. “And as such, the economic, social and infrastructural conversations over the next few years must be framed within the notion of ‘Planning for 10 million’. It works as a slogan. It is easy to grasp and, in the transition to a united island, it has more transcendent and imaginative breadth than a simple and divisive sectarian headcount. In fact, even if the electorates rejected the idea, we’d still have to plan for 10 million.”

The Supreme Court decision in the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) case is a headache for Government. This week, Michael McDowell had harsh words for one of the main Coalition parties. “Fine Gael should bow its collective head in shame for that repugnant attempt to abuse parliament and bulldoze through without scrutiny an unconstitutional abrogation of Irish sovereignty,” he wrote.

READ MORE

It’s the big story of the autumn and yet, for dispirited savers across the State, rapid increases in European interest rates have yet to translate into a greater return on deposits. Since July, rates have ramped up from zero to 2 per cent, but savers have seen no discernible improvement in the rates on offer to them. According to figures from the Central Bank, rates for term deposits for Irish household savers did rise in September, but only to 0.17 per cent, from 0.06 per cent in August. This is substantially below both the ECB rate and the EU average, which was 0.69 per cent in the same month. Fiona Reddan looks at why, with interest rates rising, people are not earning more on their savings. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your pocket, try signing up to On the Money, the new weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers. You can read the latest edition of the newsletter here.

As part of Food Month this week Nathan Anthony, who runs the Bored of Lunch Instagram account, shared his slow-cooker lamb and potato curry recipe, which has only one step in its method, but promises a hearty, filling meal that is packed with flavour. In her latest restaurant review, Corina Hardgrave runs the rule over Hyde in Dublin city centre, which she writes is a sceney restaurant, which no doubt has plans to lure the Ivy crowd to its shiny new terraces, bars and restaurants with a more interesting take on food. It’s €12 for the must-order dish, and €16,970 for the must-see wine. Find all our Food Month coverage here.

For some, the upcoming festive season brings with it dread. As one reader tells Trish Murphy: “I am dreading Christmas this year, as I have been off drink since February this year and am determined to stay sober. But this will be the first Christmas without alcohol that I have faced since my teens, and I am now in my late 40s. I am determined to do it, but just thinking of it is a nightmare”. Read Trish’s response here.

Meanwhile, Roe McDermott advises a reader whose husband of more than 30 years has started to view live sex shows and use sex chat lines online. “We still enjoy a healthy sex life (until now) and I’m upset because I view it as prostitution. I’m going to discuss it with him, but my question is, why does he need this and what am I for?” You can read Roe’s response, here.

Finally, earlier this week, Catherine Mellett from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, was announced as the first recipient of the Irish Times Mary Maher Bursary. As part of the bursary, the 19-year-old, who has just started a BA in journalism in DCU, will have her fees paid for the duration of the degree programme and get financial support for accommodation as well as paid placements with The Irish Times Group titles during college holidays each year. Read more on this story here.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including extensive coverage of Ireland’s narrow win over Australia in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday night. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

We value your views. Please feel free to send comments, feedback, or suggestions for topics you would like to see covered to feedback@irishtimes.com.